Clothesline



jan- 339 1942- 'A. T. MCCORMACK CLOTHESLINE Filed June 5, 1941 R, m. R, v nx t m Q 1v Q M j Nm, ,9W /QN ,w m.\ G.

`Fan. i3, 1942. A T, MCCORMACK 2,269,824

CLOTHESLINE Filed June 5, 1941 2 )Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl Adolph T. McCormack, oakland, Calif.

Applicatmn June s, 1941, serial No. 396,449

4 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes lines of the endless type, and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character which may be easily operated to travel in either direction between spaced supports, one of which may be a building whereby wearing apparel and other articles such as bed linen may be easily and quickly placed on and removed from one of the runs of the endless line and be caused to assume positions between the supports for drying when desired, the means for attaching the endless line to one of the supports being a manually operated medium to cause the endless line to move in either direction without manual contact therewith.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for preventing the apparel and other articles applied to the endless line from blowing and wrapping about the line, said means sustaining the articles in a depending position without undue strain thereon as would cause stretching of said articles out of shape.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating a clothes line of the endless type supported and operated in accordance with the present invention. I z I Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating one of the clothes line attaching attachments for supporting said line on one of the supports and acting as a manually operated medium to cause travel of the endless line from support to support.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view illustrating one of the restraining lines and its mounting upon the endless clothes line.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure l.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates an endless clothes line which may be either of metallic construction or fibrous. The clothes line is adapted to operate between supports 6 and 1. The support 1 may be a building with one end of the endless clothes line located adjacent a window or opening of the building so that the clothes line can be easily reached from the building.

The endless clothes line operates over pulleys 8 and 9. The pulley 8 is provided with a suitable hanger IIJ equipped with an eye I I to receive a hook I2 for securing thehanger to the support 6.

A hanger I3 in the form of a skeleton frame is provided for the pulley 9 and may engage with a hook I4 secured to the support 1.

As above stated, the hanger I3 is in the form of a frame of substantially rectangular shape including side members I4 connected at one end by a cross member I5 and adjacent their opposite ends by a cross member I6.

The side members I4' after passing thevcross member I6 converge and are integrally connected to form an eye, as indicated at I1, to engage with the hook I4. The cross members I5 and I6 are connected by a member I8 that parallels the side members I4 and is arranged between said side members.

The members I4 and I8 are equipped with bearing openings I9 in which lsleeve type bearings 20 are located. The bearings 20 rotatably support a shaft 2I on which is secured the pulley 9 and also a gear 22. A comparatively short shaft 23 is journaled in an opening provided in one of the side members I4 and in a recess in the member I8 and has secured thereto a gear 24 which is in continuous mesh with the gear 22. The shaft 23 projects slightly beyond the side member I4' which assists in supporting said shaft and has secured thereto a crank handle 25 so that a person may conveniently rotate the pulley 9 in either direction to cause the endless clothes line 5 to travel accordingly between the supports 6 and 1.

The eye I1 of the hanger I3 permits the latter to be readily reversed on the hook I4. 'Ihis is desirable when the crank handle is to be operated from one or the other Side of an opening in the building acting as a support.

Any number of pulleys 26 may be placed on the upper run of the endless clothes line 5 and each includes a loop shaped element 21 extending through said pulleys 26 and depending therefrom with the upper run of the clothes line passing therethrough. Hooks 28 are connected with the element 21 and pivotally depend therefrom to engage with loop shaped ends 29 of restraining lines 30. The lines 3IJ have secured to their lower ends weights 3| acting to retain the restraining lines in perpendicular positions. 'I'he lines 30 at a selected distance above the weights 3l are provided with stops 32 by forming in said lines 30, knots.

Loosely operating on the lines 30 between the stops 32 and the weights are clothes pins 33 adapted to be connected with vertical edges of articles suspended from the lower run of the clothes line 5. Two of the articles are indicated generally by the character 34 and are detachably secured on the lower run of the clothes line by clothes pins 35. The clothes pins 33 and 35 may be of the well known construction, as clearly shown in Figure 5, employing the coiled type springs for urging the jaws thereof in gripping relation.

The lines 30 pass through the springs of the clothes pins 33 thus rotatably and slidably connecting the pins on said lines 30.

As Will be seen from Figure 1 the articles 34 when suspended from the lower run of the clothes line 5 with certain vertical edges thereof connected with the clothes pins 33, said articles will be sustained in depending position from theA clothes line and be prevented from blowing upwardly and Wrapping about the clothes line 5 due to the use of the weights 3l, the latter being positioned a selected distance below the articles so as not to contact therewith.

Further, it will be seen that the Weights 3| are borne directly by the clothes line consequently not placing strain on the articles thereon as to cause stretching thereof out of shape.

Further, it will be seen from Figure 1 that a person in the building can conveniently actuate the .crank handle to cause the endless clothes line to travel in either direction for moving the articles thereon toward or from the building.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. In a clothes line device, an endless clothes line, means for attaching and movably suspending said clothes line between spaced supports,

pulleys movable over a run of the clothes line. sustaining lines connected With said pulleys, Weights connected to said sustaining lines to normally sustain the latter in perpendicular position, and means for connecting articles suspended from the clothes line to said sustaining lines.

2. In a clothes line device, an endless clothes line, means for attaching and movably suspending said clothes line between spaced supports, pulleys movable over a run of the clothes line, sustaining lines connected with said pulleys, Weights connected to said sustaining lines to normally maintain the latter in perpendicular position, clothes pins slidably and rotatably mounted on the sustaining lines and adapted to be connected to articles suspended from the clothes lines.

3. In a clothes line device, an endless clothes line, means for attaching and movably suspending said clothes line betweenv spaced supports, pulleys movable over a run of the clothes line, sustaining lines connected with said pulleys, weights connected to said sustaining lines to normally maintain the latter in perpendicular position, clothes pins slidably and rotatably mounted on the sustaining lines and adapted to be connected to articles suspended from the clothes lines, and means on said sustaining lines and coactive with the weights in limiting the sliding movement of the clothes pins on the sustaining lines.

4. In a clothes line device, an endless clothes line, means for attaching and movably suspending said clothes line between spaced supports, pulleys movable over one of the runs of the endless clothes line, loop-shaped elements carried by said pulleys with one run of the endless clothes line passing therethrough, hooks connected to the loop-shaped elements, sustaining lines having loops to engage with said hooks. weights connected to th'e sustaining lines, and means adapted to slidably connect articles suspended from the other run of the clothes line to the sustaining lines.

ADOLPH T. MCCORMACK. 

